Sunday, April 29, 2007

Gotta give a shout out to the boyz in the Afghan hood, keepin' it real for freedom.

From Blackanthem Military NewsBAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan – Afghan and Coalition forces killed 10 Taliban militants and destroyed two buildings in an air and ground engagement early this morning in Helmand Province. There were no Coalition casualties in the firefight. A Coalition convoy was ambushed by Taliban militants in the vicinity of Gereshk. Coalition forces fought back from the ground and employed close air support to destroy the buildings from which enemy forces were firing. As I live and breathe, it's my new hero, Major Christopher Belcher...“Taliban forces clearly lost this engagement, and will continue to lose throughout Afghanistan,” said Army Maj. Christopher Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force-82 spokesperson. “Peaceful Afghans are beginning to realize how harmful the Taliban are to their way of life, and they will no longer tolerate these criminals in their midst.”

Oo-rah!Flying with the Apaches in Afghanistan. Another smoking Hot Air Special. Bring your apache case. (You'll get it when you watch the vid.) Want some good background on what our fine troops are up to in Afghanistan. Read US aircrews show Taliban no mercy.Here's a tease:Capt Staley, the commander of the Apache unit based at Kandahar airfield, described how his helicopters had arrived just after an ambush by Taliban fighters with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, on a detachment of American special forces and an infantry unit. In the second Apache, 1st Lt Jack Denton, 26, was in radio contact with the special forces unit, Scorpion 36, on the ground.

The soldiers said they had information that the Taliban were escaping across the river. "Look out for any boats," they said. He spotted a small aluminium fishing boat pushing out from the eastern shore of the 200-yard-wide river. In it were six or seven people. When they caught sight of the Apaches, they started to paddle back towards shore.

The aircrew hesitated. "It seemed a little premature," said Lt Denton. "We didn't have hostile intent or a positive ID from the ground commander." But the special forces soldiers were adamant that, although they could not themselves see the men on the boat, they must be the Taliban who had attacked them. That, said Lt Denton, was good enough for the Apache crews.

By then, most of the men were ashore, walking quickly towards the tree line. They appeared to be pulling clothing over their heads - burqas, Capt Staley thought, and Lt Denton concurred. As the helicopters came in to attack, Lt Denton said, one of the men turned to face him and dropped to his knees. "I think he knew that there was no hope," he said. "He was making his peace."From Khost via the Brunei Times:23 Taliban die in clash, woman hostage freed.Taliban rebels meanwhile stormed a district administrative headquarters in the eastern province of Khost late last Friday, sparking a battle that was joined by Nato helicopters and left at least 13 rebels dead, a provincial governor said. The militants were hit by a Nato air strike as they were retreating after the attack in Alishar district, on the border with Pakistan, provincial governor Arsala Jamal said. "There are 13 Taliban bodies at the battle site now," he said. "Blood stains in the area suggest there must have been more than 13 killed or wounded taken out of the area."Another one for the choppers..."It was the Nato helicopters who caused the major blow to the enemy," said provincial police spokesman Wazir Badshah.